Track Smack: Daytona

For the second straight week, we have a fan guest (Mike Cronin) for Track Smack. For the first straight week, we also have a driver guest (Brendan Gaughan). The IQ average was immediately raised about 50 points.

What did the racing in the Budweiser Shootout tell you about what we might see in the Gatorade 125s and Daytona 500?

Lee Montgomery: Well, the Shootout was a great race, but I'm not so sure it told us much. The 500 is a marathon, not a sprint, and I'll be interesting to see how the tire deal works out.

Ryan Smithson: It was good. I definitely have a good feeling. It looks like the new tire helped a lot. Obviously, Mayfield got burned a little by only taking two. But it looks like we are back to where tires become a heckuva lot more important.

Marty Smith: The longer you guys go, the less you're going to be able to keep in on the yellow line. Jeff Burton told me Monday night we might see a single file Daytona 500 on Sunday.

Mike Cronin: Two tires are better than four. Drivers that took two looking for position during the Shootout probably wished they had taken the four (see the No. 19 and No. 23). I think in the 500 more drivers will be inclined to take the four unless they are looking to make up chunks of track position late in the race.

Brendan Gaughan: I could not believe how much banging went on. I don't know, I was up there in practice and I sure liked the bottom, but I cannot deny that going high looked good in the Shootout.

Marty Smith: It's going to be dicey, for sure, and the top groove is undoubtedly the place to be come Thursday. But the second run was long enough, Lee, to give us an idea what might happen.

Mike Cronin: Seemed like Junior was interested in the high groove.

Marty Smith: I hear ya, Brendan. But how long was your longest run in practice?

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Brendan Gaughan: We did a 29-lap run and it felt all right.

Lee Montgomery: Andy Graves (Sterling Marlin's team manager) said he was glad they had smaller fuel cells because tires don't last a full fuel run anymore.

Brendan Gaughan: But we definitely got better in the 2nd practice. Shane (Crew chief Wilson) said that the tires were just about done, so I would have to agree.

Marty Smith: Another interesting aspect of the Shootout was how far Jarrett came at the end. I think he restarted 10th on the final restart.

Lee Montgomery: There was some hard racing during the Shootout, which was great.

Ryan Smithson: Monty brings up a good point. How bad were the tires going to be with a 22-gallon cell?

Marty Smith: Gone.

Lee Montgomery: Cords.

Brendan Gaughan: Doesn't matter, we don't have a 22-gallon cell here.

Send a nice letter Marty Ryan Dave Lee

Lee Montgomery: True, thank goodness, right?

Brendan Gaughan: Doesn't matter to me, we would make it work if we had to.

Lee Montgomery: Those guys are going to race as hard as they have to.

Ryan Smithson: Looked like a ton of bump drafting in the corners. Looked scary.

Brendan Gaughan: In the Shootout?

Ryan Smithson: Yeah. Especially the 8 car.

Marty Smith: Hell, during practice just now, it looked like the last lap of the 500. Those cats are gettin' after it.

Lee Montgomery: I love it.

Send a mean letter Marty Ryan Dave Lee

Mike Cronin: And that one wasn't for the standings either.

Brendan Gaughan: It was definitely interesting. We ran until the end of that second practice and guys are getting a little dicey.

Mike Cronin: A little anxious to get things going again I suppose.

Brendan Gaughan: But that is what the fans want to see on race day, and NASCAR has given it to them.

Ryan Smithson: Nearly $2 million to the winner, man. That was a sponsorship 10 years ago.

Marty Smith: Record purse, Smithson. 17 mil. Or the equivalent of Brendan's bank account.

Mike Cronin: Is that account that large already?

	I drew Dale Jr. in the office pool! Yeah!

Ryan Smithson: I am sure Brendan will be happy to give his bank account away as a future Dover purse.

Brendan Gaughan: Kodak has been nice, and Mr. Penske and Mr. Bawel have taken care of me, but I don't know about that!!!

Mike Cronin: Or Texas purse.

Brendan Gaughan: No Mike, it is nowhere near that.

Mike Cronin: Soon, I would imagine.

Ryan Smithson: Brendan would rather give it as a Texas purse, because he's more likely to win there and get the cash back.

Brendan Gaughan: I like the sound of that, and I think that the Penske/Jasper guys would agree.

Mike Cronin: That's what I'm saying.

Lee Montgomery: It's a fore-Gaughan conclusion.

Marty Smith: I just puked. Dude, that was awful.

Ryan Smithson: Ditto.

Lee Montgomery: Sorry. Couldn't help it.

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Brendan Gaughan: Come on Smith, are we having fun yet!?!?

How difficult to enforce, or necessary is the yellow line rule at Daytona and Talladega?

Brendan Gaughan: Can't answer that one yet. Ask me on Monday.

Mike Cronin: I think Skinner might have a thing or two to say.

Marty Smith: Dude, I just realized that my reversible belt is twisted. It's brown on the left side and black on the right. That's what you get for buying a cheap reversible belt, I reckon.

Lee Montgomery: He's not kidding. Sure is pretty.

Brendan Gaughan: Where's my Kodak for the proof!

Lee Montgomery: Nice!

Marty Smith: I just puked again.

Brendan Gaughan: Thanks for the easy commercial.

Ryan Smithson: The yellow-line will be an issue again Sunday night I am afraid. And the Sunday night of Talladega. It's not a wall -- it's a line.

	Boris Said is much taller than Mark Martin. Credit: Autostock

Mike Cronin: I think it's a must to enforce at those speeds.

Marty Smith: Sounds corny, but I marvel at these guys during plate racing weekends. It really shows how much brass they have.

Brendan Gaughan: Last year in the Craftsman truck race, we hugged the line all the way around the track, so if that is what it takes, so be it

Lee Montgomery: I hate the yellow-line rule, but I guess NASCAR has it there for a reason.

Mike Cronin: For safety, no?

Brendan Gaughan: It was a little nerve-racking. I can't lie and say it wasn't.

Ryan Smithson: Brendan, can you see the line well when you're in the car? Is that what you follow when you're not in a huge pack?

Brendan Gaughan: You can't see the line right directly in front of you, but you can see it out there a ways.

Lee Montgomery: I don't know how you enforce it. Skinner was right when he said if he lifted during the Shootout, he was going to cause a big wreck. So what do you do?

Brendan Gaughan: But I don't think that it is just the rookies that have to be careful. Some of the veterans need to remember the hand signals.

	Can you pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time? Didn't think so.

Lee Montgomery: You telling guys they're No. 1?

Marty Smith: How many people did you inform of their No. 1 status?

Lee Montgomery: Me and Marty appear to be sharing the same brain.

Brendan Gaughan: None that they were number one. I was to busy trying to catch my breathe.

Brendan Gaughan: The best race of the weekend will be, once again the Craftsman Truck race

Ryan Smithson: The thing is, NASCAR has to make judgment calls right away based on the line, so I am afraid people will always get screwed.

Mike Cronin: Are they utilizing instant replay?

Ryan Smithson: Well, NASCAR uses tape to see what happened.

Brendan Gaughan: Kind of, they are able to go back and look at it, or so I have been told.

Marty Smith: You know what's gonna be pure insanity is that Busch race Saturday. Those car with the wicker bills and stuff? Loooooook out.

Ryan Smithson: OK Marty. Pardon my rust. Explain/define wicker bills.

	The dreaded yellow line

Marty Smith: The blade on top of the car and the hook on the spoiler. Those cars suck up so fast.

Mike Cronin: (Back to video) That would be helpful to get the calls right.

Lee Montgomery: But some of their calls seem like they didn't look at the replay.

Mike Cronin: No, I understand, but at least on the too close-to-call incidents.

Ryan Smithson: This ain't the NFL though.

Brendan Gaughan: Thank goodness!

Marty Smith: Don't call it a playoff, by grannies.

Lee Montgomery: Yeah, I could see Robbie Loomis throwing a flag on pit road. Or, excuse me, Shane Wilson.

Ryan Smithson: Playoff-style points system.

Daytona 500 predictions?

Mike Cronin: I'm going out on a limb with the 15.

Lee Montgomery: That's way out there, dude.

Ryan Smithson: I think this is the year Harvick returns the Daytona 500 trophy to Welcome, N.C.

Brendan Gaughan: Not going to get me in trouble like that. But the DEI cars are hard to bet against

Mike Cronin: I know, cheesy. Come on Brendan!

Lee Montgomery: Another publication wanted predictions, and I wrote down Jimmie Johnson. Always been good on plate tracks. Maybe it's his year.

Marty Smith: In our fantasy preview, I went with Junior. It's just awfully tough to pick against DEI. But look for Ford to be awesome. This new Roush/RYR gig is legit. I got my loot on the 38. Sadler wins Emporia, Virginia's first Daytona 500.

Lee Montgomery: But, man, it's going to be a different race. Wow. Nobody picked the 8.

Ryan Smithson: That would have been too easy.

Mike Cronin: Good call Marty, I was close to going with the Yates boys.

	Get excited

Marty Smith: If Sadler wins that sucker, it'll be a party for the ages.

Brendan Gaughan: It will definitely be interesting, I know that the Penske Dodges are looking to give Mr. Penske his first Daytona win

Ryan Smithson: I know Newman didn't qualify well, but he sure drafted well.

Mike Cronin: Rusty would go nuts.

Lee Montgomery: Rusty looked good during the Shootout.

Brendan Gaughan: But still tough to bet against DEI.

Mike Cronin: There wouldn't be enough track for burnouts (if Rusty won).

Brendan Gaughan: Rusty and Ryan both looked good in the shootout.

Ryan Smithson: Rusty will have to write a "2" in the infield. Wouldn't be that tough.

Lee Montgomery: We could be set up for a really interesting race. Lots of good guys up front, and the tires throw in a big ol' monkey wrench.

	I just won the Daytona 500!

Marty Smith: I don't get geeked up for much anymore, boys, but during that Shootout, I was way geeked. I couldn't quit smiling. Sunday will be much the same.

Brendan Gaughan: It is going to be a whole new type of 500. The tire and the fuel cell give it an interesting strategy. And pitting with teammates is going to be very important

Mike Cronin: Let's hope for good weather.

Ryan Smithson: What is the forecast, anyway?

Ryan Smithson: Lord, no 2003 repeat. Please.

Mike Cronin: I'm two hours south (of Daytona), and they are calling for intermittent showers.

Brendan Gaughan: Two hours south? Isn't that about in the ocean?

Mike Cronin: Nice. Not quite. West Palm area. Still a ways to go south.

Ryan Smithson: No one has brought up The Big One yet. We had some pretty big packs in the Shootout.

Marty Smith: You know what it looked like to me in the Shootout?

Brendan Gaughan: What's that Marty?

Marty Smith: That the middle, which in the past couple years, guys were able to hang with the leaders, you drop like a rock. One time, Jimmie Johnson was vying for the lead, got caught in the middle and was gone quicker than Michael Jackson's nose.

	No rain!

Lee Montgomery: Yeah, three-wide and older tires ain't gonna work.

Brendan Gaughan: I got into the middle once, and can't say that it was enjoyable.

Marty Smith: Uh, no. I think I'd soil my pants, bro.

Mike Cronin: Didn't look like the guys during the shootout liked the middle much either.

Lee Montgomery: I bet even Newman got a little scared.

Ryan Smithson: Well, at least you have a yellow car, so maybe they won't be able to see the yellow stripe.

Brendan Gaughan: I wear the Raybestos Rookie stripe proud, my friend.

Ryan Smithson: Like we said, we make this too easy.

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Lee Montgomery: He just made (Raybestos representative) Jimmy White's day.

Ryan Smithson: We give the boy his lead-ins, and he comes though.

Brendan Gaughan: Got to take care of everybody!

Marty Smith: You gonna pay my gym bill next month, BG?

Brendan Gaughan: I need the money right now, give me a few months to catch up.

Track Smack appears every Wednesday on NASCAR.com at 11 a.m. ET sharp. Now, with better, improved guests.

The opinions -- if you can call them that -- are solely those of the participants.